Dorm Daze
by sub0chick
Summary: Xander and Spike are reluctant roommates with nothing in common, but it's a long school year and friendships can develop from the least likely of circumstances. X/S, all human college AU. Rated for later chapters.


Title: Dorm Daze 1/?

Author: jujukittychick

Fandom: Buffy: the Vampire Slayer

Cast: Xander, Spike

Pairing(s): Xander/Spike

Warnings: m/m

Rating: R (eventually)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the computer I'm typing this on and am making no money. Buffy belongs to its respective creators and owners who *are* making money off them. I'm just doing this for my own fun and entertainment; in general, if you recognize something, I don't own it.

Beta: NONE! Any mistakes are my own

Spoilers: None

Prompt: From my Lucky 13 – AU Prompt Meme on LJ (you can find the link on my profile), requested by kaylashay University AU starring Xander/Spike

Summary: Xander and Spike are reluctant roommates with nothing in common, but it's a long school year and friendships can develop from the least likely of circumstances

"Hey, Willow! Yeah, I'm here; the parental units just dumped me and my stuff outside the dorm and booked it. Huh? Oh, no; no sign of the roomie yet. Hopefully he's cool; it'd be nice to have a friend up here, though I'd settle for just not a horrible jerk. Yeah, gonna miss you too. I better go; I need to get my stuff unpacked. I'll give you a call next weekend and let you know how everything is. You too. Bye."

Xander looked around the small square room, the white painted brick walls and scuffed tile floors a testament to easily repairable industrial usage and, the gods willing, his home for the next year. Plugging up his CD player, he tuned his radio to the campus station and opened up a bottle of soda he'd gotten from the gas station, glad it was still slightly cold. Looking at his pile of stuff and the barren room, he gave a lopsided smile and took a drink. "Here's to college life."

.oOo.

He was in some kind of hell dimension, that's all there was to it. He sneered as he looked at all the happy, laughing co-eds hauling luggage up to their dorm rooms and winced as a cluster of girls squealed in a frequency so high that he was afraid the windows would shatter. _This_ is what the next year of his life was condemned to? His parents had to be completely mental to expect him to simply give in with a smile. Shrugging his pack higher on his shoulder, he pulled the little dolly carrying the few belongings he'd decided to bring with him towards the entrance to the completely boring looking dorm ahead of him, ignoring his father's voice as he called to him to wait. They knew which room he'd be staying in and they hadn't allowed him to bring his car so it wasn't like he could make an easy getaway.

Waiting in line at the elevator with the preppy looking girls and boys that were so obviously bound for the Greek life, he had to smirk as they cast wary looks in his direction; he was still the Big Bad without even trying. Hoping for some peace and quiet when he got to his room and praying for someone either with his same tastes or completely quiet to be his roommate, he bided his time crammed into the corner of the elevator, listening to the hyper chatter floating around him and wishing he could smoke outside of his room.

Making his escape from the moving coffin – him claustrophobic? never…. – he trudged his way down the hall, eyes widening and diligently praying that the pop music he was hearing was coming from some _other_ dorm room. "Pleasepleaseplease…" He stopped in front of the open door with _his_ room number printed on it and was bombarded by the chirpy, annoying tune coming from a tiny CD player next to the window. Glancing up at the ceiling he gave a resigned sigh. "Why do you hate me?"

Stepping into the room, any noise he made was muffled by the song and the off key singing of the room's only other inhabitant, a gangly looking boy in obnoxiously bright clothes that was currently bouncing on one of the beds as he hung up, oh no, it couldn't be... "Bloody, buggering hell!" It was. Star Trek posters, and Babylon 5, and _figurines_ …and his roommate was a complete geek.

"Ah, William, there you are! I thought I told you to wait for us."

"It's Spike."

"_Will_."

The argument was an old one and one that would most likely be repeated into infinity. It did however serve the purpose of gaining the attention of his easily startled roommate, if the sudden flailing about and getting tangled in bedding before crashing to the mattress was any sign. He did however bounce back quickly, literally using the hard mattress to bounce up to his feet, a goofy grin on his face as he looked at the three newcomers.

"Hi, I'm Xander, well, it's actually Alexander, but my best friend Willow said it was too much of a mouthful back when we were in kindergarten and Xander kinda stuck. You're my new roommate? Cool! I just got here a little while ago, been decorating. I hope you don't mind me taking this side of the room? It was kind of hard to pick since they're basically the same, but I wanted to go ahead and unpack some so I can go take a look around campus. Oh! You should totally come with me."

Spike just stared in dazed disbelief. "Do you even have t' breathe?"

.oOo.

Spike looked over at his dad who was doing a lousy job at covering a laugh at his son's expense. Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, he opened his mouth to speak…only to have his dad apparently read his thoughts.

"I had nothing to do with this arrangement, Will." Turning his back on his son, he offered a warm smile and extended his hand to the bubbly young man that he just knew was going to cause endless torment to his surly son. "Hello, Alexander, I'm Rupert, Will's father, and this is my wife, Anya. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Wiping his hand off on his oversized jeans, Xander took the man's hand, surprised at the firm handshake considering the man looked like a meek little librarian what with all the tweed and the proper British accent. Turning to face his wife, he held his hand out only to have her look him over as if he was a commodity to be bought and sold… and found lacking. Feeling suddenly awkward, he let his hand drop, a flush creeping up his cheeks.

"I still don't understand why we both had to come along; he obviously doesn't want or need us here. We could have kept the shop open. I'll be in the car." Anya's voice could have frozen water and the utter contempt for her situation was obvious; as it was, it left Xander feeling horribly out classed and like he was right back home with his parents wondering why they'd even bothered to have a kid.

Rupert stuttered and flushed, the look on his face ranging from embarrassed to angry as he excused himself and went out the door after his wife.

Spike looked at the teen still standing dumbly in front of the open door, looking like someone had just kicked _him_, forget the puppy, and felt his hard persona cracking just a little. He knew what it was like to have that wicked, uncaring tongue turned on him. Walking over, he laid a hand on a surprisingly strong shoulder, squeezing gently, his voice soft. "Don't mind her, mate; it's nothing personal. I've never figured out what my dad saw in her; she's always been a shrew. But she's wonderful with business stuff and has helped keep my dad's bookstore afloat all these years."

Xander turned his head, looking down, and wasn't that funny because the other teen seemed to be so much larger than life with his platinum spiked hair and punk clothes, and into the most beautiful blue eyes he'd ever seen. Reaching up to squeeze the hand on his shoulder, he offered a shaky smile. "Thanks. Just felt like I was right back at home again there for a minute. I'm okay."

They stayed where they were, each lost in their own thoughts that strangely mirrored each other – feelings of inadequacy brought by the uncaring mouths of those that were supposed to love them unconditionally, relief that they had friends that they could rely on, the strange sense of comfort they had in the other's presence - staring into each other's eyes as they stood no more than a hands width apart.

The intimate moment was broken by Rupert returning, his stuttering voice reaching them before he actually appeared, causing them to step away from each other quickly, identical blushes creeping up their cheeks. Their guilty appearance as Rupert stepped into the room, had him quirking an eyebrow, wondering what exactly had happened during his brief absence, though the flush on his son's cheeks made him hopeful that perhaps this new boy might manage to break the shell his son had constructed around himself in the past couple years. Turning to the fidgeting young man, he offered another smile, "I have to apologize for my wife, Alexander; she…doesn't do well with people."

Xander glanced between them, deciding to use the name the other teen seemed to prefer. "Spike? He, uh, said you own a bookstore? That's pretty cool. Do you carry comic books and sci-fi stuff?"

Glad to see that bubbly energy returning to the young man, he laughed softly at the question. "No, I'm afraid not. We carry more books on more esoteric matters, though some of them do certainly seem fantastical at times. I just had a young man working on a dissertation contact me regarding books on the pyramids and ancient Egyptian religion. The ideas he had would probably be entertaining to you considering your…interests. Generally, only scholars and researchers are interested in our wares."

Spike laughed at the absolutely confused look on the boy's face. "Means, he sells a bunch of dry, dusty old books on philosophy and religions that only stuffed shirts are interested in. Though, some of them are pretty rare so they apparently got no problem handing over great loads of dosh for them."

It still took Xander a minute to cobble together what the two Englishmen said - and why did they have to have such different accents anyway? – before he figured out what they were saying. "It still sounds pretty interesting. And I _can_ read serious stuff; I got in _here_ on a scholarship." He really didn't mean to sound so defensive at the end and started fidgeting awkwardly as the other two looked at him, the blush that hadn't really left him since they arrived growing darker once more.

Spike could swear he could feel the hidden pain in the other teen's words and had to resist the urge to comfort him again. Glancing at his father, he saw the same concerned look on his face and hoped the old man didn't say something to make it worse; Anya wasn't the only one not so great with people sometimes. But, in one of those rare moments that made him proud to have the stuffy old man for a father, he saved the situation.

"Really? That is quite an achievement! Congratulations, Alexander. I could only wish Will had applied himself to his studies so well. Perhaps, if you find yourself still interested this summer, you could see about helping out in our shop. We usually have several large orders come in as people take the break in between school years to work as much as possible on their theses."

The two Brits watched as the teen seemed to glow with happiness, bouncing in place as he shoved his hands into his back pockets, a broad smile tilting his lips. "Seriously? That's so awesome! Thank you so much for the offer. Hopefully, I mean, I don't know how far away I live from you guys, but that would be totally cool. Like a summer job! Oh, but I'd have to find some way to get there, too. I don't have a car, and my parents totally won't let me use theirs for…anything."

_Bloody hell!_ Unable to watch that innocent happiness bleed away over something so trivial, Spike nonetheless couldn't believe what he was about to say. "Well, if things work out, and ya still want to go work in those dusty shelves, maybe you could crash with us while you work. We got a spare room over the shop. Then ya wouldn't have t' get a ride but twice, yeah?"

Watching that brilliant smile return was apparently worth offering up his own refuge as a place for the boy to stay…though the increase in bouncing was kind of worrisome. Eyes growing wide, he could only stand frozen in shock as Xander suddenly grabbed him in a tight hug, totally unwilling to admit that those big strong arms wrapped so warmly around him felt anything other than unwelcome. Of course, the look on his _dad's_ face was priceless as Xander bestowed the same exuberant hug on him as well, completely mussing the man's blazer and crisply starched shirt in the process.

"You guys are awesome! This is going to be the best school year ever!"

"Yes, well, um, Will, if you could see me down to the car. We should probably be on our way back home."

Nodding, Spike followed his dad out of the room, closing the door as Xander had started making a phone call. _"Hey, Wills, yeah I know I said I wouldn't call 'til later, but you won't believe what just happened…"_

Instead of walking any further, Rupert turned to face the young man in front of him, wondering when exactly his little boy had grown up - it seemed just yesterday that he was still in short pants, coming to him to bandage a skinned knee. "Will, what you did in there…"

Spike felt himself blushing once more and shook his head, denying anything special had happened, feeling decidedly uncomfortable under the approving look his dad was giving him. "I didn't do anything; you were the one that offered…"

"_Spike_, hush, what you did for that young man…I'm very proud of you. He seems like he could use a good friend. And even though he is not of your usual…sort, I do hope you will give him a chance. He seems to have a very big heart. Now, go on and get settled; I'm sure I can find my way back quite well on my own. Don't forget to call at least twice a month and let me know how things are going." Pulling his son into a brief hug, he whispered, "You are a _good_ boy, William; don't hide that. I love you."

Spike watched as his father simply turned away and walked down the hall, not allowing him to say anything, leaving him standing in front of his room, eyes strangely watery, _Must be the fresh paint_. He vaguely heard the door open behind him.

"Oh, there you are! I was thinking of ordering pizza, you want some? Isn't it cool they'll deliver here?"

Listening to his new roommate babble at speeds that shouldn't be humanly possible, smiling fondly and nodding when it seemed appropriate, Spike set about unpacking. It was certainly going to be an _interesting_ year if today was a sign of things to come.


End file.
